have yourself a merry little christmas
by atsmoochie
Summary: "I'm so sorry I'm late, I promise to work harder in the future." Inigo flashed the man his award-winning smile. This was so clearly a horrible idea that was going to get him into some serious trouble when he was discovered, and yet Inigo found that he didn't care. Opportunity had come knocking, and who was Inigo not to open the door? Or alternatively, a xanlow christmas prince au
1. The Beginning

" _It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, toys in ev'ry store. But the prettiest sight to see, is the holly that will be on your own front door."_

 **–** _ **It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas**_

* * *

"This is a huge story, Inigo," Severa commented from where she lay across his lounge, not looking up from the phone in her hand. Her red hair was splayed out underneath. Until this moment, Inigo didn't even realise she'd been listening to his constant blabbering.

"I know, and I still can't believe _The Regna Ferox_ gave it to me," _The Regna Ferox_ was the biggest newspaper in the East, and they were trusting a lowly fitness columnist to cover a royal coronation. _Was everyone else busy or something?_ He didn't exactly know the first thing about royalty or politics, and he couldn't see a way to make an arm-toning guide fit the piece. Although, a 'fitness regime fit for royalty' could be a fun column.

"You sound kind of miserable. What could possibly be wrong?" She was right, obviously. If he pulled this off, he was in line for a promotion and a pay rise. More importantly, this was a chance to prove he was better than an intern, or a fitness columnist.

And yet -

"I don't want to leave my dad over Christmas." He tried to hide how much the prospect troubled him. They had been virtually inseparable for the last eight years; he couldn't bear the thought of leaving him alone the coldest time of the year.

"Fear not, friend!" Owain's exclamation snapped Inigo out of his thoughts. "Henry will be in very capable hands, not to face Winter's cold grasp alone!" Inigo had honestly forgotten that Owain had been there, his usual loud demeanour dulled to a fascinated silence. It brought a small smile to Inigo's face. He didn't doubt that Owain would forget his father for even a second. "Go and pursue your brooding prince, Inigo!"

"And treat us both to dinner when you get back." He could hear the smirk in Severa's voice.

"Are you guys sure? It's a huge thing to ask, and I don't want to dampen your own holiday plans and-"

"Silence, Inigo! Henry has been a prominent figurehead in our lives since we were in diapers. It's the least we can do to repay him for his unwavering kindness!"

Inigo couldn't help the warmth that blossomed through his chest. He knew his father loved Owain and Severa. They'd spent every weekend at each other's houses for the majority of their lives.

"But anyway, what's the big deal with this prince? I thought monarchies were old fashioned."

"It's a dull story. Prince Xander of Nohr is about to be coronated as king after the death of King Garon, which apparently is a controversy since Garon's reign was horrible for the people, and no one wants his son to repeat his mistakes." Inigo huffed. He'd done hours of Google searching to try and gain a full understanding of the situation in Nohr. And then, all he really knew was that King Garon had been one of the worst monarchs in history. He was bad for the economy and bad for the people. The rumour had it that his eldest son, Prince Xander, was shaping out to fit right into his father's despicable mould.

"I almost feel bad for the sucker. Everyone's expecting him to be bad." Owain hummed, lips downturned.

"Or perhaps he is!" Severa piped back.

Inigo was just going to have to find out the truth about Prince Xander for himself.

* * *

The first thing that Inigo noticed about Nohr was that the weather was perpetually horrible. It was always cold, always snowing and always dark. He truly hated it.

Getting to Nohr had been easier than Inigo had thought it would be. There weren't even any connecting flights, just one direct from America to Europe. He hadn't gotten stopped at customs, and the flight had been smooth; he was going to check into his hotel right after the press conference. It had all been going so well up to this point. And then he reached the palace, and his luck appeared to run out, if not abandon him altogether.

Inigo wrapped the scarf tighter around his neck, fidgeting with the tassels on the end. He was sitting amongst the press outside Nohr's palace, some holding notepads, others expensive-looking cameras. An official wearing an absolutely ridiculous hat had greeted the crowd and told them that Prince Xander was going to address them within the hour with his announcement, and a press conference to follow.

That had been over two hours ago.

Many of the reporters present were by this point. Some had even gotten up and left in huffs of anger, mumbling something about an asshole of a prince never showing up. Inigo, on the other hand, was frustrated. If he was completely honest with himself he had been expecting such to happen. This prince obviously thought he was so high and mighty he could let people wait in the cold, and he was going to be the reason Inigo's story suffered.

Inigo looked down at his watch for what felt like the millionth time. The likeliness that Prince Xander was going to show up was growing slimmer and slimmer. The seconds ticking by were mocking him. He texted Owain and Severa another update, featuring some incredibly colourful language.

By now he was one of the few reporters left. Inigo could feel himself growing madder by the second. He had never been known for his patience, after all. It was abundantly clear that Prince Xander wasn't gracing the public with his awe-worthy presence. _Asshole, absolute asshole._

But no, Inigo wasn't going to let some pompous prince stop him today. He stood up and stretched his aching arms before a mischievous grin crossed his face. If his article wasn't going to have any significant quotes from His Royal Pain in the Proverbial, he was at least going to score some sweet photos of Nohr's palace.

And what a magnificent castle it was. The gardens, which Inigo had been residing in for the last few hours, were grander than any botanical gardens back home. There were roses of every colour imaginable, all in neatly organised rows. The smell was divine, and Inigo wished his mother were here to see them. His eyes moved to the actual castle. It was all arches and curves, and possibly the most beautiful piece of architecture known to man. Blanketed in thick, white snow only seemed to make it glow in an angelic light.

Inigo thought it strange that there was a lack of guards around. _Did they have other duties? Was keeping the public out not one of them?_ He swiftly moved outside the gardens and towards the first door he could see. It wasn't the front entrance- he could tell that much. He placed one gloved hand up against the knob and gave it a twist. Perhaps his luck hadn't run out, after all, the door easily opened under his nimble fingers.

It shouldn't have been possible that the inside of the castle was even more gorgeous than the outside, and yet it took Inigo's breath away. The high ceilings were adorned by crystal chandeliers that lit up every corner of the grand corridor he stood in. The carpets were a deep red, and the walls a pristine white. There were beautiful paintings of every kind hung on the walls, each in a magnificent gold frame. Inigo fumbled with his phone to take some photos.

He kept moving, needing to get as many pictures as he could before he got caught. _God, he hoped he didn't get caught. Could he get persecuted for this? What did Nohr do with international criminals? They couldn't possibly still have the death sentence, right?_ Those thoughts left his head as he noticed a full suit of armour around the corner. He couldn't hide his boyish glee while looking at the Knights' armour. He had always loved knights as a child, and he and his father always found themselves geeking out over anything medieval. He snapped another photo, not only for his article but also to send to Henry. His dad would love this.

"Excuse me." _Fuck._ Panic filled Inigo's veins, his heart thumping in his chest. This couldn't have been happening. He hadn't heard footsteps coming towards him. He could have sworn the corridor was empty. He had only checked a few seconds ago!

He slowly turned around to face his certain doom. Before him was a man, probably around Inigo's age, with silver hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. He didn't look like a threat, but it was a fact universally known that looks could be deceiving. The man had a fine facial structure, complete with high cheekbones and dark lashes. If Inigo hadn't been scared out of his mind, he would have thought the man was beautiful.

"Y-yes?" Inigo stuttered. Maybe he could talk his way out of this one; pretend he didn't speak English, and he was just a lost tourist who had stumbled where he shouldn't be.

"You're Princess Elise's new tutor, correct? And you're horrifically late. Please be prompt in the future." Inigo had two options. He could correct the man, tell him that no, he wasn't a tutor for a princess. He was just a dumb reporter who was looking for a story. He could be completely truthful about the matter, and deal with the consequences of his snooping. Or-

"I'm so sorry I'm late, I promise to work harder in the future." Inigo flashed the man his award-winning smile. _He hated himself_. This was so clearly a horrible idea that was going to get him into some serious trouble when he was discovered, and yet Inigo found that he didn't care. Opportunity had come knocking, and who was Inigo not to open the door?

"My name is Jakob, manager of the staff at Castle Krakenburg." Jakob seemed to give Inigo a once-over, "Please tell me you have more appropriate clothing." His icy demeanour truly did suit the Nohrian climate.

Inigo gazed down. He was wearing jeans and sneakers, which he assumed were not the correct attire to be donning in the presence of royalty. He compared his attire to Jakob's. The silver-haired man was wearing a three-piece suit, not a single wrinkle in sight that was paired with immaculately polished shoes. He was truly the image of perfection, if not for his cold demeanour.

"Of course I do." He hoped the sweater and trousers he had hastily packed the prior evening would suffice.

"Then please change into them before you meet the Princess this afternoon. And forgive me, but I cannot recall your name."

He couldn't possibly give his real name. His articles were on the internet! He'd be discovered immediately.

"It's Laslow." _What kind of name was that, Inigo?_ He stuck his hand out.

Jakob didn't shake it. "Well, Laslow, welcome to Castle Krakenburg. I hope everything goes well for you."

Oh, Inigo didn't just hope this went well. He _needed_ it to go well.


	2. Elise

"Holidays are joyful, there's always something new. But ev'ryday's a holiday, when I'm near to you."

 **– Merry Christmas, Darling**

* * *

After the brisk meeting with Jakob in the corridor, Inigo was marched to retrieve his luggage before being escorted to a room that would become his own.

"Are you sure this is my room?" Inigo asked, turning back to Jakob. The room was far grander than anything Inigo had ever resided in. It was larger than the room he had at his parent's place as a child, and it was perhaps even bigger than the entirety of his current apartment back in New York. The high ceilings were ornate with swirls and flowers, and there were large glass doors that seemed to lead to a balcony

Jakob ignored his question, presumably believing it was insignificant. "Please meet in the hall in an hour to meet with Princess Elise." And with that, Jakob turned on his heel and left Inigo standing in that grand room completely alone, with absolutely no clarification of where the hall was. Not that he minded, he could probably find a hall himself. He had an hour to collect his thoughts, and attempt to convincingly craft the character of 'Laslow'.

 _What was a royal tutor supposed to be like?_ One would probably say that they were supposed to be uptight and proper. Probably stuffy and boring. Inigo shook the thoughts of uptight old women with moles and permanent scowls embedded on their faces out of his head. He couldn't possibly change himself that drastically, and even then, he definitely didn't want to. If anything, if Princess Elise was drawn to his character, she might be inclined to give him more information. He felt manipulative saying it, but this was the best way to get the most information on Prince Xander.

He would just tone himself down a little. Inigo had been faking an aura of confidence his whole life, he knew it wouldn't fail him now. He had perfected it.

It was the same aura of confidence he had employed after the loss of his mother, just so his father wouldn't worry about him attending school, then university. It had served him well thus far, and it seemed _Laslow_ would have to be just as confident as Inigo had always pretended to be.

Inigo walked around the rooms and dumped his bag in the back corner, before rummaging through and pulling out the very respectable sweater and trousers he promised Jakob he would wear.

After he changed, Inigo took in his appearance in the pristine floor-length mirror in the corner of the room. It was the most boring he could ever remember appearing. The dull green of the sweater made him look paler than he already was. Not even the silver earring he always wore could liven up his drab appearance. But it would have to do.

His phone began to vibrate in his pocket. Owain and Severa must have just woken up (time zones were terrible, truly), and were responding to the last stream of rather unfavourable texts Inigo had sent. He hadn't had the chance to update them since he snuck into Castle Krakenburg.

 **Severa:** _he really didn't show up? SLACK! Told u so_

 **Owain:** _Perhaps the prince met a foe on his way, and had to go to battle!_

Inigo was not inclined to believe that in the slightest. Their texts and theories kept escalating the longer they texted. Owain thought he was battling a dragon. Severa thought he was entertaining women. But that wasn't at the forefront of Inigo's mind, and he couldn't bring himself to reply to their antics.

 **Inigo:** _I may have snuck into the castle_

He should have given more of an explanation than that.

 **Severa:** _what the actual fuck_

 **Owain:** _ADVENTURE ON, BRAVE WARRIOR!_

 **Severa:** _please elaborate?_

And so Inigo explained exactly what had happened. It helped, really, to get his thoughts in order. They got over the initial shock surprisingly fast, but kept firing an endless stream of questions and comments towards him.

 **Severa:** _dude, you barely passed grade 11 math. how the hell are you going to tutor a princess?_

Inigo hadn't planned that far ahead yet. It wasn't that Inigo was a horrible student (though, a few of his teachers may have thought differently), but that he never had the patience to learn things that he deemed unnecessary. Trigonometry was a beast he never bothered taming. He hoped that Princess Elise wasn't yet old enough to be learning things that surpassed Inigo's own ability. _Perhaps she was interested in journalism? He'd get a kick out of that._

* * *

It was undoubtedly time to make his way to the hall. He left himself ten minutes to wander the corridors of the castle until he found it. He imagined it would be sufficient time to find such a central sounding room. _The_ hall would be easy to find, he imagined.

He imagined wrong.

He gazed down at his watch for what felt like the millionth time that day. He had a minute to find the hall, and yet all he had found was himself lost in what felt like a never-ending maze of corridors. In his own confusion, he didn't realise he was walking right into someone until it was far too late.

"Someone's eager, hm?" The stranger's voice was smooth. Inigo looked up into one striking blue eye and one eyepatch. Inigo must have jumped back ten feet. He had never been this careless!

"Sorry! I-" _Be confident, Inigo._ The second thing he noticed was that the man he had walked into was seriously attractive. _Was it a Nohrian thing? Were they all born with superior genetics?_ He had the first two buttons of his shirt undone, and his hair was sticking out in all directions. Inigo may have only been at Castle Krakenburg for an hour, but he knew that if this man worked here, he definitely didn't conform to Jakob's dress codes.

"I'm guessing you're the newest tutor? Tell me, do you offer hands-on experience?" The man was smirking at him. Inigo balled his hands into tight fists. While this man didn't appear to pose any real threat, but there was still an uneasiness present.

"Sorry, what?" _This guy had to be joking, right?_

"Niles, leave the poor man alone." Another voice, definitely Inigo's saviour, spoke from the end of the corridor. Blonde hair, pale skin and small stature; Inigo recognised this person immediately from all his research. For reasons unbeknownst to himself, the realisation that he was going to have to meet all of the Nohrian royalty was only hitting him now. He hadn't even considered what he was going to do! Here he was, in the same corridor as a prince and yet he had no idea what to do or how to act. And so he did the first thing that came to mind.

"Prince Leo". He _curtsied_ , and then a sensation of burning in his cheeks that he prayed wasn't as red as it felt.

Oh, what a fool he felt. He heard the first man- Niles- snort at his panicked response. _He really wasn't doing very well._

Whatever mistake he had made, Leo appeared to take pity on him and ignore it.

"You must be looking for Elise. I believe you'll find her in the hall. It's down the other end of this corridor, the last door to your left." His voice was completely void of expression. Prince Leo had to be the coldest teenager Inigo had ever come across. Perhaps this was the life of royalty; having to grow up faster. He was so evidently youthful in appearance, and yet he spoke as though he carried such a weight. _Was this the result of being the son of King Garon?_ Inigo made a mental note to write on this later.

"Thank you, your highness." He bowed his head and offered a small smile.

"You should be off then. I am sure we will speak properly at a later period. Niles, come with me, please." With a smirk from Niles and a curt nod from Leo, both men turned around and left Inigo standing in the corridor.

Nohr was turning out to be a complete whirlwind. In just over an hour, he had found employment as a tutor, met someone who looked like a pirate out of an erotica novel, and a teenage prince.

But nothing could have prepared him for Elise.

Leo's directions were perfect. Inigo found the hall in under a minute and somehow was only a tiny bit late.

Elise was standing in the middle of the room, a giant smile on her face. Her blonde hair was styled in two immaculate pigtails, and her dress flowed around her in a cloud of baby-pink.

He bowed (Inigo was one to learn from his mistakes), and approached her. "Your royal highness."

"You're a tutor?" Her big brown eyes were soaking in his appearance. She was adorable. She couldn't possibly be much of a handful, right? She looked young, if Inigo were going to guess, he would have said she was about twelve.

"You don't look like a tutor."

Or perhaps she was going to be harder to fool then he thought.

"Of course I am, milady! Laslow the tutor at your service." He sent her a bright smile, hoping to win her over with his dazzling (fake) personality. She seemed to accept his answer, because she sent him a sweet smile, and stuck out her hand. It wasn't intended to shake, he realised upon noticing it was more clenched then open to be shaken. But Inigo had seen enough Hallmark movies to know what was expected! He took her hand in his and bowed over to place a kiss on the back of it.

He smiled, but celebrated his victory far too early. He felt her open up her hand and drop something into his palm. Something that was _moving._ He made an undignified yelp as she pulled her hand away and immediately noticed a small, white mouse in his hand. Elise must have found the look of absolute horror on his face hysterical, because Elise was giggling behind her hand at her own devilish prank.

 _Be cool, Inigo. She needs to like you._ "And who would this be?" Her giggling stopped upon realising that he was no longer panicking. It wasn't so much that Inigo was scared of mice, but more the fact he hadn't been expecting one. Inigo didn't mind mice. The fond memory of playing with Severa's mice in her childhood home came to mind, and just like that, he was back to his ever-confident self.

"That's Mouseketeer. My last few tutors hated him." A frown was spreading across her face. She was trying to get rid of him, but Inigo was not going to budge.

"A noble name for a noble mouse. Does he also like to learn?" Inigo stroked the mouse's back.

"No, I suppose he doesn't." She held out her hand, and Inigo plopped Mouseketeer back into her palm. She smiled again, but Inigo suspected she was faking it. "You don't mind him?"

"He's more than welcome to join us, I think he's lovely." Elise perked up at this. She had never had a tutor who was so quick to accept her tricks, and even embrace them.

"Shall we go to the library?"

* * *

The library had a thousand shelves that spanned the ceiling to the floor, and contained books that looked absolutely ancient. The library at Castle Krakenburg contained more information and wealth than most could wish to see in their lifetimes. Inigo was going to have to take photos of it later.

They were positioned at a table by a window; the crisp white light streamed into the room, completely illuminating every nook and cranny of it

"What are we learning today?" Elise was already cradling her head in her hand. After dropping Mouseketeer back into her quarters it became clear that the girl really had no affinity for being tutored. "Can it not be something boring? Please? I've had enough algebra to last me all year!" _Music to Inigo's ears._

However, he wasn't ready to yet teach her something. He wasn't even sure if he knew anything worth teaching! When he got back to his room tonight, he was going to watch enough YouTube tutorials to teach himself first. For now, his goal was for her to like him enough to trust him.

"I was thinking, why don't you tell me what you need help with, and we'll start there!" Inigo sat in the chair across from her. She really was the cutest kid he had ever seen, and her childlike nature only served to make Inigo immediately fond of her. She seemed so different to Leo. He hoped she would continue to warm up to him, too. It would make his job so much easier.

"I like writing! Can we do some writing?" She was practically beaming sunshine at him. _How could anyone ever tell her no_?

"Of course, milady. I do love writing," This was all panning out far better than expected.

"Are you a writer, Laslow?"

Inigo was internally cursing himself. He was supposed to be careful, but his own big mouth was going to thwart his plans. He had to think fast. A half-truth would save him here.

"I did an English degree at university." Inigo thought it best to cut out that he did a double-degree in journalism. He smiled at her again, but she didn't have time to comprehend his answer, as she was looking out the window beside them, distracted by a certain figure.

"I didn't realise Xander wasn't working!"

Inigo peered outside. In contrast to the snow which had blanketed the gardens, there stood a singular man. Inigo couldn't tell what he was doing, he was too far away.

"Why don't we go say hello?"


End file.
